Drew Bruner: From Shingles to Shepherd
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Jeana Curtis, for Missouri Farmers Care
As a fresh college graduate with a history degree, Drew Bruner was living his best life working for John Deere with a construction business on the side. He thought he’d make construction into a career, until one day he roofed a farmhouse for a retiring farmer and the job turned into an offer to buy the farm. In his early 20s, Drew purchased the newly roofed farmhouse with 400 adjoining acres. His farm has evolved over the years leading to a holistic agriculture mindset focused on an improved quality of life for his farm and his family.
Living the Unexpected Dream
Drew and Lillian Bruner are raising their growing family in #Agri-Ready Designated Schuyler County where Drew farms and serves as a county commissioner while Lillian provides care for the community as a nurse practitioner. Growing up, Drew enjoyed spending time with his farmer friends and visiting his grandparents’ small farm but never dreamed that he would be farming for a living. After settling into his farmhouse and acreage, he purchased 100 cows and started renting ground to raise row crops on shares with some friends. He raised stocker cattle and tried several farming practices before pivoting to rotationally grazed sheep. Today, he shepherds a herd of hair sheep and enjoys raising guardian dogs.
Burnout
When reflecting on the early years of his farming career, Drew recalled a time when he was backgrounding cattle and had converted the farm inta 20-acre pens where he kept cattle on feed. “I would wake up 365 days a year, whether it was 20 below zero or 105 degrees outside to feed and treat cattle.” While sorting cattle, feeding silage, building (and rebuilding) pens, and ordering rock, he watched his beautiful grass farm change. Frustrated and tired, Drew decided, “I’m sick of this. I just want to do something different.”
Doing More with Less
Drew began looking into rotational grazing “because doing more with less has always been the idea.” Rotational grazing would grant him an increased stock density, if properly managed, allowing more head to be raised on fewer acres. Ready for a new beginning, Drew removed the cattle pens and reseeded the beautiful grass farm he fell in love with. “It was a mixture of a financial move, a stewardship move, and a quality of life move,” Drew states.
Rebuilding
With lush grass growing again, Drew added hair sheep to the farm. When the cattle market spiked Drew decided to buy more sheep instead of stocker cattle and slowly phased out the cattle operation. Today, his flock is almost 1,400 head of hair sheep. The familyenjoys sheep and retains females to grow his flock. “It works for me,” Drew says. “My kids can help me do stuff with them. They’re easy to handle and pretty low maintenance.” He sells replacement ewe lambs for people starting or growing their flock. He encourages anyone interested in agriculture to make connections, educate yourself, and think outside the box. He jokes, “sheep may not be the ‘sexy’ option, but they’re profitable!”
As a first-generation farmer, Drew’s decisions aren’t swayed by the previous generation. “I was able to adapt. And once I started rotational grazing I took on this holistic mindset,” Drew shares. “You break it down where you have sunlight, healthy soil, livestock, and yourself. Those are the tools that you need. Outside of that, all the tractors and equipment and grain bins, all that stuff is just on the sidelines.” This mindset helped Drew approach every situation seeking the most cost-effective way to proceed with those essential tools in his toolbox.
Community Service
When Drew isn’t rotating sheep, he dedicates time to community service as an Associate Commissioner of Schuyler County and a youth baseball coach. When he registered for the election, he was determined to work hard, be seen, and not allow losing to be an option. Since being elected he prides himself on bringing new energy to the commission and ensuring his constituents feel heard and cared for by returning every call. His willingness to listen and try new things led to several county improvements, including the recent #Agri-Ready County Designation.
Nestled against the Iowa border, agriculture is the primary economic driver in Agri-Ready Designated Schyler County. Agriculture, food, feed, forestry and related industries account for:
●$44 million of economic output, 26% of total county economic output
●516 jobs, 33% of the county’s jobs, and
●$18.4 million in total value added to the local economy.
The county has a legacy as a leading sheep producing county. Schuyler County is the second smallest county by area and fourth smallest by population, with 4,159 residents.
The Perfect Balance
With full-time farming operation, part-time community service, and a growing family, Drew always keeps a lot of balls in the air. When asked how Drew balances everything, his response is simple: “you just have to do it.” He credits his style of farming for allowing him the flexibility to continue the life he loves. He has goals to expand his replacement ewe business. Drew states, “If I’m still doing what I’m doing now in five or ten years, raising sheep and raising dogs and running kids to baseball practice, I’ll be happy.”
